Resource Works put three levels of government on one stage, and the friction arrived early. Global News Morning co-anchor Jason Pires moderated. Port Coquitlam Mayor Brad West, B.C. Green Party Leader Emily Lowan and Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Ellis Ross took questions.
The panel was intended to explore policy alignment across governments, but it quickly exposed deep divides instead. West and Lowan clashed over liquefied natural gas (LNG), while Ross zeroed in on regulatory paralysis in Victoria and Ottawa.
Nobody knows who signs
When Pires asked where the disconnect lies between federal approvals and municipal implementation, Ross was blunt.
“That is a great question because the answer is I don’t know, and I don’t think the government knows,” Ross said.
Ross pointed out that asking four different officials about regulatory jurisdictions yields four conflicting answers on which laws to repeal or apply. The basic framework remains unsettled: nobody knows who ultimately signs the environmental assessment certificate, and the standard for First Nations consent remains equally murky.
Ross argued the obstacle isn’t technical. “It’s not all these technical reports, it’s politics,” he said. 15 years ago, he said, no government and few First Nations wanted LNG. Support arrived once the polling moved.
To illustrate the delay, Ross contrasted B.C.’s record with Europe: Germany constructed an LNG terminal in just two years, while B.C. spent two decades debating proposals, prompting giants like Chevron to abandon a $30-billion project. LNG Canada succeeded, he noted, for one singular reason.
“It was only because our band decided to stop talking, stop analyzing, and start doing,” he said.
$24 against $68
When Pires asked whether advancing automation makes defending resource jobs a losing battle for organized labor, West grounded his defense in hard wages.
Checking figures on his way into the venue, West noted that tourism jobs in B.C. average roughly $24 an hour, whereas resource sector jobs average closer to $68.
“The resource industry is heavily unionized. People have benefits. They have pensions. They have job security,” West said.
Having worked for the United Steelworkers prior to entering municipal politics, West spoke of the pride among sawmill and mine workers who could support entire families on a single income—a financial security he lacked growing up.
He was most critical of the transition promise. West said he often meets workers who lost jobs and are told a better one will come.
“Where are they? What do they do? What do they pay?” West said.
He has been asking for a long time, he said, and still has no answer.
Who carries the bag
Lowan took a different approach. She said she focuses on three questions: who owns B.C.’s resources, who benefits, and who is left with the costs.
She highlighted ownership. American and foreign equity firms hold major stakes in LNG projects, she said. Fast-tracking often leaves local governments out of the process.
“I’m not a no person. I just don’t like what you’re proposing,” Lowan said.
She proposed a green industrial strategy. She said it would create three times as many jobs without subsidizing a declining sector. She warned of a global LNG supply glut in five to eight years. B.C. could enter that market late and at the highest cost.
Pointing to past overpromises, Lowan noted that while former Premier Christy Clark promised 100,000 LNG jobs, the sector currently employs around 3,000. She urged B.C. to prioritize local ownership and focus investments on sustainable forestry, responsible mining, and geothermal energy.
Fourteen years for a solar farm
Surprisingly, Lowan’s critique of government red tape echoed the concerns of pro-development advocates.
She pointed out that clean energy initiatives routinely founder due to institutional inertia. A utility-scale solar project on Haida Gwaii successfully offset diesel dependence but stalled when trying to add battery storage, only for BC Hydro to state it couldn’t assist.
“That should be our bread and butter, right?” she said.
She cited another First Nation near Kamloops that spent 14 years navigating court battles and tax code disputes with the finance ministry just to build a utility-scale solar farm.
“Imagine if it didn’t take 14 years,” Lowan said.
All three politicians, from different parties, agreed on one point: B.C. takes too long to build.
The municipal lane
West drew a hard line around what cities actually control.
“There is a cohort of mayors and city councillors who are confused about what level of government they’ve been elected to,” West asserted, reminding the room that resource permitting falls under federal and provincial jurisdiction.
Where municipalities do wield power is over land use. West pointed out that the Lower Mainland rapidly lost industrial land as councils rezoned property for residential developments amid skyrocketing real estate prices—driving prospective businesses toward Alberta or Washington State.
He also targeted municipal grandstanding over energy step codes, where cities competed to outdo one another before reversing course, creating a patchwork of conflicting regulations where natural gas is banned in one jurisdiction and embraced next door.
“It’s an immature way to do business,” West said.
West called on the province to enforce single, uniform standards rather than letting municipalities splinter regulations.
Leadership against politics
Ross closed on the gap between the two.
He said investors ask one question: how soon does the permit come. A 15- to 20-year wait for a mining permit answers that. Canadian capital moves to the United States, and so do young Canadians.
Overcoming that inertia requires political courage that is increasingly rare, Ross observed.
“I need this project done. I need it done quick. Therefore, I’m going to risk not getting elected again to get this project across the finish line,” Ross said.
That’s what LNG Canada was built on, he said, back when the project had almost no friends.
When Pires closed by asking who holds the key to B.C.’s economic future, West pointed to federal leadership in Ottawa, arguing B.C. must push harder for federal focus. Lowan pointed to her own party, noting the Greens could hold the balance of power in an upcoming election. Ross pointed to conservative leadership, but added a crucial caveat.
“Don’t walk away from your values, don’t walk away from what you promise,” Ross said he told him.
Ian Biana writes for the Resource Works Accelerate team and can be reached at [email protected].
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